In brief: Summa’s circular economy investment in TBAuctions

Summa Equity has made a resource efficiency investment to help grow Europe’s circular economy.

The Stockholm-based impact manager has taken a minority stake in TBAuctions, a company operating a portfolio of online platforms auctioning second-hand goods throughout Europe. Summa is partnering with Castik Capital, a private equity firm based in Luxembourg, which acquired TBAuctions in November.

Drawn to the company’s mantra that “nothing of value should be lost”, Summa’s investment in TBAuctions will help provide a “sustainable alternative to purchase new goods” while also “reducing over-consumption of our natural resources”, Michael Vollset, the firm’s investment director, said in a statement.

Summa, a B-Corporation, closed its third impact fund in January on €2.3 billion. The firm’s strategy is to take minority positions in companies addressing resource efficiency, changing demographics and tech-enabled transformation.

Investing in a circular economy, which focuses on the sustainably holistic production and consumption of existing materials, has begun to draw interest from impact investors. Last month, Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, helped finance the recapitalisation of a US-based second-hand goods store, focusing on the buildout of the company’s e-commerce operation.